New Braunfels Grass Removal Rebate: Up to $2,000 Back on Your Water Bill

For a mid-size utility, New Braunfels runs one of the more generous grass removal rebates in Texas. There is no pre-approval gate, which sounds convenient, but it shifts the burden onto documentation: NBU decides everything from the photos and the application you file after the work. Get the paperwork right and the rebate shows up as a credit on the water bill you were already paying.

What the rebates pay

The grass removal rebate pays up to $2,000 per 12 months. The drought-tolerant tree rebate adds up to $500, and NBU also offers healthy soil rebates for mulch, compost, and aeration (NBU rebate applications, last verified July 2026). All of it lands as a bill credit on your NBU account rather than a check, which also means the rebate only exists if you are an active NBU water customer.

Photograph first, dig second

Your application needs before and after photos that include markers, and it is due within 12 months of the work. There is no way to take a before photo after the grass is gone. If you have already cleared the yard, the rebate is out of reach for that area, so make the photos the literal first step of the project.

The rules the yard has to meet

• •At least 100 square feet replaced; a maximum of 2,000 square feet is rebated per 12 months.
• •Drought-tolerant plants only, on a permeable non-grass surface. Artificial turf does not qualify.
• •Topsoil at least 4 inches deep with at least 25 percent compost or organic matter.
• •Spray heads, rotors, or drip line in the replaced area removed or capped.
• •Using the removal to prep for a pool, hot tub, fountain, or pond disqualifies the project.

The application itself is a series of statements you personally initial, including that you planted only drought-tolerant plants in the replaced area. Fill it in with what you actually did; NBU reserves the right to deny any application that does not conform to the guidelines.

Plants that fit New Braunfels

New Braunfels sits at the edge of the Edwards Plateau (the Hill Country side of the San Antonio area), on thin alkaline soil over limestone. Cedar sage (Salvia roemeriana) handles the dry shade under live oaks with red spring blooms, blackfoot daisy (Melampodium leucanthum) makes a neat white-flowered edge in full sun, and Texas mountain laurel (Dermatophyllum secundiflorum) is a slow, tidy evergreen with grape-scented purple flowers in March (native ranges per the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center). All three qualify as drought-tolerant and keep a front yard looking deliberate and HOA-friendly.

Last verified

The $2,000 cap, the photo and topsoil rules, and the 12-month filing window here reflect the NBU rebates as of July 2026. Confirm the current terms on our New Braunfels program guide or NBU's application page before you plan the project. More Texas programs are on the Texas rebates page.